Canada's Safest Employers awards recognize companies from all across Canada with outstanding accomplishments in promoting the health and safety of their workers. The program boasts 10 industry-specific safety awards and four special awards.

The COS Safety Leader of the Year recognizes an individual who best exemplifies leadership and vision in the world of OHS in Canada. Co-workers, employees, bosses or anyone can submit a nomination for a deserving leader.

Winners received $2,000 for first place, $1,500 for second place and $1,000 for third place, and each winning school received a matching prize.

In addition, the public were invited to vote online for their fan favourite among the entries, who also won a $1,000 prize. The video with the most fan votes was Focus on Safety by Shannen Garibay and Maria Himbeault from Clavet Composite School in Saskatchewan.

The video contest challenged high school students across the country to use their creativity to produce an original video that could be used in social media to illustrate to younger workers the importance of working safely on the job. Contestants and their schools had a chance to win cash prizes, provincial/territorial and national recognition.

Eleven entries were accepted for national consideration from provincial and territorial contests.The videos entered into the national contest were judged by a panel of judges representing leadership of national organizations: Gareth Jones, president and CEO of CCOHS; Shirley Hickman, executive director of Threads of Life; and Perry Ruehlen, executive director of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE).

The winning video of the national contest was shown at the national launch of North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week in Ottawa on May 8.